Today in Tech: Why BlackBerry has a 'clear shot' at being number three

“We have a clear shot at being the number three platform on the market. We’re not just another open platform on the market, we are BlackBerry.”

“It has all the table stakes we need to have for consumer [success],” Heins said. He pointed out that the unique features of BlackBerry 10, including the BlackBerry Hub and its new multitasking UI, add on to those stakes to represent a real contender. He was careful to note that the BlackBerry Hub, in particular, is more compelling than it seems at first blush, “BlackBerry Hub is not just a unified inbox.”

The 7-inch Nook HD starts at $199 for a 8 GB model, and the 9-inch Nook HD+ starts at $269 for 16 GB. Both tablets begin shipping in late October and are slated to hit store shelves in early November. (Nook’s older 7-inch Nook Tablet recently had its price tag cut to $179. The company’s black-and-white Nook e-readers sell for $99 to $139.)

There are as many as 10 candidates, and directors review the list quarterly, [John] Chambers said in an interview yesterday at Bloomberg’s headquarters in New York. They include Gary Moore, chief operating officer, Robert Lloyd, executive vice president of worldwide operations, Chuck Robbins, senior vice president of the Americas, and Edzard Overbeek, senior vice president of global services.

Most CEOs should accept that social media is part of their job description, says former Medtronic Inc. CEO Bill George, a management professor at Harvard Business School and avid tweeter. “People want CEOs who are real. They want to know what you think,” he says, adding: “Can you think of a more cost-effective way of getting to your customers and employees?”

And the key to Facebook’s strategy is that no matter where users start on the ladder of mobile technology, from the most basic device to the newest smartphone, Facebook becomes better and more fun to use as they upgrade. And this is also why carriers are so eager to partner with Facebook, because the next billion to come onto the internet will do it through a mobile device, on which every megabyte that they use in connecting with their friends can be measured and billed.

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